Writing “It sucks” would’ve been a sufficient post for the title, but I’ve decided to expand on this subject a bit. Take it from me, I’ve been tall my whole life. Tallest one in my class, the one able to reach that book on the highest shelf without lifting my heels off the ground, the one who looks like everyone else sitting down and then when I stand up someone says “Oh I didn’t realize you were so tall.” Yeah, I’m that person.

I can’t ever go to Asia without being mistaken as “God-zirra!”

Body Type

Usually being tall is a very forgiving thing. I can gain ten pounds without anyone ever noticing. Being tall also means that you’ll catch almost everyone’s attention. That can be a good or a bad thing depending on how you deal with attention. Luckily, I am able to handle it well. Clothes are typically built for model-esque bodies–tall, slim frames. Unfortunately pants do not fit in this category. I cannot explain how difficult it has been trying to find a good pair of jeans throughout the entirety of my life. When I do finally find a good pair, I wear them until they are full of holes. I get them patched over and over just so I can avoid the horror of possibly never finding a pair of jeans that fit me ever again.

When I was young, I wanted nothing more than to be little and petite. I hated when people said “You’re too big to do that” or “You can’t fit in there.” I remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Good, asked us to write down a wish that we had for ourselves or something like that. I wrote “I wish that I could be small.” I think Mrs. Good thought I was on crack. I distinctly remember her asking why I wanted to be small. From that moment on I knew no one would truly understand my hardships.

Guys

Have you ever liked someone but knew you could never date them because they weren’t tall enough? I have. So many people were off limits no matter how big a crush I had on them. How sad is that? Life is hard.

Must be nice to be able to wear these. I wouldn’t know.

Weight

You know life is hard when people think you look too skinny at 165 pounds. Usually when women are more than140 pounds they want to set themselves on fire, but my weight will always be skewed. My tall friend and I have talked about this issue. She’s about an inch or two taller than me and she makes me feel so normal. I think my driver’s license says that I weigh 157 or something like that which is a blatant lie. It’s just not fair because if I was short, I would already be 130 or something awesome like that. Maybe then I could sit on a guy’s leg without breaking it. Not that I’m sitting on guys legs all the time, but it would be nice to be able to, ya know?

Leg Room

Have you ever gotten in the back of a car and just didn’t fit? What about on airplanes? Do you have enough room to sit next to someone comfortably and not stretch your legs into the aisle? I don’t. Everything I own needs to be long, over sized, or just bigger than the norm. Have you ever been in the store Restoration Hardware? Every piece of furniture they have is insanely large. It makes me feel normal. Can you tell that I just want to be normal?

I had a normal experience the other day. I went into a clothing store called Long Tall Sally (uh I know) and all of the clothes we extra long. The first pair of jeans I tried on fit me perfectly! And I could even cuff them if I wanted to! I could even wash them without worrying about them shrinking! Imagine! Is this how shopping is for everyone? I’m so extremely jealous if it is. (The jeans I bought have 38 inch inseams.)

Moral of the story is, being tall might look great from afar, but it comes with it’s hardships. All you Lilliputians seem to have the easy life.

I’m 1m80, which means there’s a bunch of people that are smaller than me out there. I’ve had the pleasure of tall friends, but my current classmates are mostly smaller. It does in fact make me feel a bit clumsy and awkward. So I share your pain.

Aw, I can see how that would suck at times. Especially on airplanes, jeez! But as for the pants thing, I usually have the opposite problem…tons of jeans are way too long, like, in-heals-but-still-stepping-on-them long. I think shopping just sucks for anyone and everyone…sometimes. ;)

I’m five foot nothing with a tendency towards roundness. That’s not a blessing either. I think generally being outside of what society considers normal just sucks because nothing is made for you. Furniture is uncomfortable, clothes look not great at best, people stare (if they even notice you) and you either have the issue of constantly looking emaciated or counting the calories in every salad leaf because gaining three pounds means your pants WILL NOT FIT the next day.

Yes ughhhg. I try to never wash my clothes. Gross as it sounds I cannot afford anything shrinking on me! I guess you’re right though, there are problems with most sizes and shapes. I just wish I was one of those lucky ones…

Wouldn’t being able to stomp on Asian villagers make up for a lot? And being able to rest your elbow on other people’s heads. Look on the bright side. Did you seriously have a first grade teacher named Mrs. Good?

Tall girls are really hot so you have that going for you. Like Amazons; the women not the shopping website. Plus no one would screw with you because you’re tall. I sometimes wished I was like 6’7″ but I suppose I’m lucky to be over six feet, I know “men” that are under 5’7″, they make me laugh.

Hah yeah nothing worse than a tiny man. That’s gotta be rough. My brosef is 6’7″ so I always feel petite around him.
That’s true about no one wanting to get on your bad side though. You could be like the incredible hulk!

yeah because that is fun. Reach food for other people because you will be too fat if you eat it yourself. Sigh…also everyone is looking at the top of my head. If you have big boobs like me and your short, your one big walking boob.

I’m a normal height (5’5″) but I happen to make friends with loads of people who are shorter than me – so I sympathize with being taller; and that all those friends are 100 lbs soaking wet and are adorable and petite. So I sympathize with you on that too! :) But I am sorry for your leg room issues – I always notice that tall people on airplanes having loads of issues with that.

And I agree with Don’t Quote Lily – shopping sucks for everyone! I definitely never find perfect jeans. Ever.

Umm… You’re gorgeous. (If I do say so myself.) I can’t imagine you being short.
But I know the trauma of being tall. I used to wear my heels anyway. But yeah, the guy thing is weird and sort of depressing, especially when you’re in High school.

Oh well thanks momma gal. I guess that makes me feel a little better ;) I actually can’t imagine myself being short either, but maybe a respectable 5’9″ or something like that? Is that so much to ask for?!

mmm I am a shorty at 5’2″ and my husband is 6’4″ and we are an odd couple. It makes me super mad that he puts everything up so darn high and I have to stomp around with my step stool. But then I feel bad for him cause he hits his head on the door ways and ceiling fans. No win right? never wish you have to use a step stool cause it is a pain in the butt. I trip on his shoes too :0)
Sneakers rule the world Lily…. heels phsssst over-rated. I do wish just once i could be tall and intimidating.. just once. But alas I am too shy for that anyways
Thanks for the different perspective– it was an educating view. But you should always listen to your Mom :) she knows best

Aww all you short girls take all the tall men! It isn’t fair! Hah that’s cute though. I bet you feel so protected by him :)
It’s nice for guys to be tall, but not as nice for girls. Sneakers and flats are basically what I live in. It’s just easier that way. Although I wish I could feel like a movie star and wear heels on a daily basis.
My mom knows best–especially when her opinion ends in a compliment. Haha

I’m only about 5 foot 7, which for my family, means that I got shafted in the height department. Idk if you remember, but my younger brother is basically a ginger version of yours : curly hair, glasses, beard, and just generally a big dude… he’s around 6 foot 3 or 4. My dad is around 6 foot 2 and my mom is 5 foot 9, so yeah, I’m def shorter than I prob should be, considering my genetics.

When I was younger, I always remember wanting to be taller, but once I became interested in Asian culture/languages/etc around three years ago, that quickly ended because even at 5 foot 7, I’d basically be a giant over there. My 5 foot 9 BFF and I are planning on vaycaying in Asia and we both know that it’ll be… interesting, considering our heights.

Even though I’m considerably shorter, the thing you said about guys and heels resonated with me because again, even at my height, I’m either as tall, taller, or barely shorter than most of the Asian pop stars and celebs that I fawn over (hey, a girl can dream, right? lol). I could prob never wear heels and if I did, the guys would likely have to wear EPIC 깔창 or lifts, these wedges that go into one’s shoes and are like secret high-heels for men.

I do think it’s really hot though when a shorter guy is with a hot amazon woman and confident about it.

It’s weird that you’re shorter than both of your parents! I would feel very strange to still be looked down on by my family. Well as you know, my bro will always look down on me, but there was a time when I looked down on him and I will always treasure those years.
How did you get into all of that Asian culture stuff? I remember you being an anglophile and then you were into australia and now asia. I’m so intrigued by this. Lol yeah I bet tons of people will take your picture in asia because you will stick out so much! Awesome. Like a pair of celebs!
Omg the only asian I could ever date Yao Ming. hahah

I was living in Hawaii about three years ago and there’s quite a large Korean population there (and Asian population in general) so some Korean channels came with our cable. I was channel-surfing one day when I stumbled across a Korean drama during a scene with THIS piece of man ( http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QM2-6hVKZbQ/TAvU43xY_dI/AAAAAAAAKww/XZQ_X3Lllj8/s1600/superjunior_kimheechul1.jpg ), Kim Heechul (surname first). He’s also in a K-pop group so I looked them up and it was all downhill from there. Three years later, I’m firmly entrenched in K-pop, Korean culture, etc. I’m at a high beginner-low intermediate level in Korean and I do ‘freelance translation work’ (which basically means that I run a Twitter doing unofficial Korean to English translations for a K-pop group; mwahahahahaha).

Hah that’s so funny. I just love how involved you’ve gotten. You should definitely go to Korea and find a husband or something. I’m hoping south Korea? Or you could come to Canada and just find that other guy. That way you could take me back home with you. Killing two birds?

LOL um, yeah, I’ll def stick to South Korea. Ah, and the one guy is a Canadian citizen (I think he lived in East Van?) but now goes back and forth between China and South Korea. You should def come back to Barrington for a visit though~

First of all, this was awesome and I really wouldn’t be surprised if it got Freshly Pressed. So, yeah. Second, is your husband tall too? I once worked with a girl who was super, super tall. Recently I was trolling her Facebook, and it turns out that she married this other guy we worked with that was not only NOT her same height but known for being extremely short.

First of all, you’re way too nice. I think WordPress must have made a deal behind my back to never freshly pressed ever ever ever. But thanks lovely. My husband is like an inch taller than me. I’ll take what I can get, really. Haha that sounds awful, but seriously. Good for your friend! It takes so much confidence to do that. And like, true love obviously. But mostly confidence.

I’m average height which is nice because most of the people I know are around the same height, some slightly shorter and some slightly taller, but eye contact’s generally easy. However, I constantly wish I were taller, mainly so that I could eat more and yep, be able to reach things.

I will agree to try to feel your pain, if you will agree to change my kitchen lightbulbs.

Ahh average height must be so nice. Oh yeah, you can have eye contact with people without looking down! What a luxury!
I will agree to change your light bulbs if you agree to chop my legs off at the knee so I am of average height.

I’m sure someone else already said something similar but Lilliputians should be what you name members of the could I hope you one day start. Maybe your parents gave you this name in hopes you would be 3 inches tall and fight about eggs?

I won’t rub it in your face how incredibly average sized I am. I forget what else I was going to say. Maybe it was simply “Watch your head” or “Duck.”

That is true. My brother and I were able to ride Splash Mountain at Disney World when we were four. Normal.
Long legs are a pain for real. Especially when it comes to finding clothes that fit and leg room..

I came across your blog while looking for a saying to counteract a Facebook post from a short person. The post said, “Yes, I’m short. God only grows things until they’re perfect. Some of us just didn’t take as long as others.” PAH! Just some short person, trying to feel better about their lack of height. Well, I’m 5’11” (I think I am still that height-you shrink as you get older, dang it) and proud of it! Yes, it’s been a struggle finding jeans and pants long enough, but I am in my 50s. When I was young, it was nearly impossible! I had to look for generous hems and turn them down and sew binding on the bottom so I could just barely turn them up and stitch them. When cuffs were in, I would make cuffs out of other jeans and sew them on my jeans. When my sister and I washed our jeans-always in cold water!–we would stretch them out by dragging each other around, pulling the jeans between us. Now, at least, there are tall pants in some stores and there are stores in Canada like Long Tall Sally and Tall Girl. My daughter is a little over 6ft, 25, and beautiful. I am so glad she is tall. She makes ME feel short! She wears her height with confidence and it shows. She wears high heels whenever she feels like it and she is a head turner. Stand tall and straight and proud! When people say, “how’s the weather up there,” they are not making fun of you. They are jealous!

I’m 25 and 6feet like your daughter! We should be friends! Haha I love all of your tall struggles. I never wash my jeans because I’m too afraid of shrinkage. I do love Long Tall Sally and Tall Girl they are the best stores! I totally know what you mean about cuffing your jeans..lol I would’ve sewn on cuffs too. Thanks so much for your kind words and funny stories! :D